Apparatus for simultaneously corking a number of bottles.



No. 721,803. I PATENTED MAR. 3,1903.

S. HYDEN'& K. A. SIMONSSON. APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY CORKING ANUMBER OF BOTTLES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 16, 1901.

no MODEL. 3 sums-sum 1.

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. No. 721,803. l PATENTBD MAR. 3, 1903.

. s. HYDE'N & K. A. SIMONSSON'. APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEUUSLYOORKING ANUMBE 0F BOTTLES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1 6, 1901.

N0 MODEL.

' I 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No 721,803. I PATENTED MAR. 3, 1903.

' S. HYDBN 6: K. A. SIMONSSON.

APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY GORKING A NUMBER OF BOTTLES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.16, 1901.; 7 no MODE-L. i s SHEETS-SHEET s.

Afiorgeys UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SVEN HYDEN AND KNUT ALFRED SIMONSSON, OF STOOKHOLM, SWEDEN.

APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOU SLY CORKI NG A NUMBER OF BOTTLES.

$PECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 721,803, dated March 3,1903.

' Application filed August 16,1901. serial No. 72,288. (No model.)

To all whom tin my concern: 7

Be it known that we, SVEN HYDEN and KNUT ALFRED SIMoNssoN, brewers,subjects of the King of Sweden and Norway, and residents of Miinchensbryggeri, Stockholm, in the Kingdom of Sweden, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Apparatus for Simultaneously Corking a NumberV of Bottles, of which the following is a specification. A

The invention relates to improvements-in bottle-corking machines.

The object of the present invention is toimprove the construction ofbottle-corking machines and to provide a simple and comparativelyinexpensive one adapted to be easily operated and capable of enabling alarge number of bottles to be simultaneously corked.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of thischaracter which will enable the operation of corking bottles to beperformed by'fewer workmen, with greater ease and in much less space,and with greater speed than has heretofore been possible.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bottle-c'orkingmachine constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a planView, partly in section. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the lineA B of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail viewof the fixed plate. Fig. 5 is adetail view of the upper vertically-movable plate which carries theplungers for forcing the corks or stoppers into the bottles. Fig. 6 is adetail view ofa portion of the lower movable plate. Fig. 7 is a detailview of the cork-holder for filling the machine.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawlngs.

The frame of the machineis provided with four pillars or posts 1,connected at their upper ends by suitablev beams and forming guides forupper and lower vertically rnovable plates 2 and 3,'which are locatedabove and below an intermediate stationary plate 4, which is secured tothe guides. The bottles to be corked are run into the machine on trucksby means of a track consisting of a pair of rails 5, arranged at'thefoundation or base of the frame. At each corking operation a truck 6,with a bottle-stand 7, containing uncorked bottles, ,isplaced into themachine and remains stationary during'the said operation.

The lower vertically-movable plate 3 is provided with a number of holes8, adapted, when the plate 3 movesdownward, as hereinafter explained,during the corking operation, to receive the necks of the bottles. Thelower plate 3 is arranged in an elevated position above the bottles andthe stand at the beginning of the corking operation and the necks of thebottles extend a short distance above the stand, so that when the plate3 descends they will project into the holes 8 and extend through theplate 3. The bottlestands generally used by brewers contain one hundredbottles, and the plate 3 will be provided with the same number of holes,and it is also provided on its upper face with stationary and movableclamping-bars, one set being fixed to the plate 3 and the other setbeing connected by cross-bars and adapted to move in unison. Thestationary bars 9 are arranged at'one side of each row of holes 8 andthe movable'bars 10 are located at the opposite sides of the holes,their movement being limited by pins 33, mounted on the connecting-bars32. The clamping-bars are provided at their inner edges withsemicircular recesses 11 and 12, arranged to receive the necks of thebottles and forming openings for the reception of the same. Theseopenings, which are located above the holes 8 of the lower plate 3, fitexactly the neck of the bottle below the enlargement or mouthringthereof, and the holes 8 are slightly larger than the necks of thebottles to permit a limited amount of play and to avoid contact betweenthe plate 3 and the bottles should there be any variation in the same.The holes 8, which taper upwardly, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, are ovalor elliptical in plan view, the major axis being in the direction of themovement of the clamping-bars 10, as the bars 9 are stationary, and thebottles are moved slightly when the plateis lowered to cause themouth-rings to project above it.

The stationary plate 4 is provided with openings 13, registering withthe holes 8 of the lower plate and having lower portions molded to fitthe exterior configuration of the mouths of the bottles and providedwith upper portions of the same diameter as the bore or opening of theneck at the point where the cork is received. At the upper side of theplate 4 are mounted rollers 14, arranged in pairs at one side of eachopening 13, and at the opposite side of each opening 13 is secured afixed block 15, having a semicircular recess. The rollers 14 arearranged adjacent to the block or piece 15, and the space between suchparts is adapted to receive a cork. The diameter of the recess isslightly less than the diameter of the interior of the neck of thebottle, and the cork is slightly compressed by means of a series ofcross-bars 16, arranged between the rows of rollers and connected bybars 17. The bars 16 extend between the sets or pairs of rollers, andthe connecting-pieces, which are secured to the bars 16, are providedwith projections 18, having end recesses, forming curved cork-engagingfaces to engage the corks, as hereinafter explained. The bars 16 and 17,which form a reciprocating frame, move in unison in the direction of thebars 16, and the corks, which are placed opposite the projections 18,are compressed against the blocks or pieces 15, the projections 18extending between the members of each pair of rollers, which are spacedapart .for this purpose. The horizontally-reciprocating cork-compressingframe is arranged beneath a plate or board 45, provided with openings 46and suitably secured to the stationary plate 4. The openings 46communicate with the spaces between the blocks and the rollers 14 andwith the openings 13 and are adapted to receive the corks which areplaced in the machine, as hereinafter explained. The uppervertically-movable plate 2 is provided at its underside with a series ofdepending pins or plungers 10 of the same diameter as the upper portionsof the openings 13, and the said plate2 is adapted to be forced downwardby hydraulic pressure or other suitable means for driving the corks intothe necks of the bottles.

Mounted beneath the rail 5 is a transverse shaft 20, journaled insuitable bearings and provided at each end with cam-wheels 21 and 35 andhaving a cog-wheel 22 keyed or otherwise tixed to it. The cog-wheel 22meshes with a pinion 48 of a short shaft 49, located at each side of themachine. A set of these gear-wheels is arranged at each side of theframe, and the machine is also provided at each side with a pair ofshort shafts 23, journaled in suitable bearings 24 and having camwheels25 keyed or otherwise secured to them. These short shafts 23 are alsoprovided with worm-wheels 26, which mesh with worms 26 of shafts 28,journaled in suitable bearings 27 and extending longitudinally of themachine at opposite sides thereof and having gear-wheels 47, which meshwith gear-wheels 50 of the said shafts 49. The diameters of thegear-wheels are such that the shafts 23 make two revolutions while theshaft makes one revolution. The lower verticallymovable plate 3 issupported upon the camwheels of the short transverse shafts 23 and israised and lowered by the rotation of such shafts. On each side of themachine are arranged levers 29 and 36, fulcrumed between their ends onsuitable pins 30 and 37 and having their lower ends arranged in contactwith the cam-wheels 21 and 35, and the said levers are provided at theirupper ends with slots receiving projections or lugs 38 and 39 of thebars 10 and 16. The lower ends of the levers 29 and 36 are held incontact with the cam-wheels by springs 31 and 40, and when the shaft 20rotates the said levers are oscillated by the cams and the springs.

The machine is preferably supplied with corks or stoppers by means of aboard 41, provided with holes 42, forming cork-receptacles, and mountedupon the lower portion of the board 41 is a thin plate 43 of sheet-ironor other suitable material. This plate 43, which is provided with holes44, is adapted to be reciprocated to cover and uncover the bottoms ofthe openings 42. In practice a quantity of corks is dumped upon theboard 41 and the corks are swept into the holes 42, and after the latterare filled the superfluous corks are removed from the board or holder.The cork-holder is then placed upon the plate or board 45, and thebottom plate 43 is reciprocated to uncouple the bottoms of the openings42 to permit the latter to communicate with the spaces between therollers and the fixed blocks. The corks are then dropped into themachine.

In operation a truck having a bottle-stand is placed beneath the plate3, and as soon as the corks have been placed in the spaces between theblocks and the pairs of rollers the horizontally-reciprocatingcork-compressing frame is actuated by the levers 36 and the corks arecompressed or squeezed between the blocks 15 and the projections 18. Inthe meantime the cork-holder has been removed from the apparatus, andthe plate 3, which before the operation is commenced was in an elevatedposition with the clamping-bars 9 and 10 separated, has been moveddownward, and the necks of the bottles have been clamped between thebars 9 and 10 by means of the levers 29. After the bottles have beenengaged by the clamping devices of the lower vertically-movable plate,the latter is again lifted and is pressed against the under side of thestationary plate 4, the mouth-rings of the necks entering the lowerportions of the holes 13. The stationary plate supports the necks of thebottles in a fixed position and effectually prevents them from movinglaterally. The upper vertically-movable plate is then lowered and thecorks are pushed into the bottles by the pins or plungers 19, afterwhich the plate 2 is raised and the plate 3 lowered until the bottlesare returned to their places on the stand. The clamping-bars 9 and 10are then separated and the plate 3 is raised to its initial position.leaving the corked bottles on the stand. The operation is then repeated.Instead of employing the mechanism herein shown and described forraising and lowering the upper and lower plates and for reciprocatingthe cork-compressing frame and the clam ping-bars various othermeans maybe used, and, if desired, the stand may be lifted simultaneously withthe plate 3 in order to form a better guide and support for the bottles.Also instead of lowering the plate 3 to the bottles the truck and thestand may be moved vertically, and, if desired, both sets ofclamping-bars may be movable. The cork-holder instead of being removablemay be permanently mounted on the machine and arranged to prevent thepins or plungers of the upper movable plate to pass through it. Amovable bottom plate for closing the bottoms of the cork receptacleswill then be unnecessary. The upper and lower movable plates can beoperated from a single source of power, and it may be of advantage inconnection with the fixed clamping-bars 9 to arrange the guides to givethe lower plate 3 a transverse movement in order to enable themouth-rings of the bottles to pass freely through the said plate.

What we claim is 1. In a machine of the class described, the combinationof a frame, an intermediate plate or support provided with openings andhaving cork-compressing devices, a verticallymovable bottle-engagingplate provided with a series of openings to receive the necks of thebottles and having means for engaging the said necks, and avertically-movable plate or plunger located above the intermediatesupports and provided with means for engaging the corks, substantiallyas described.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a frame,-avertically-movable lower plate provided with a series of openings toreceive the necks of bottles and having means for engaging the saidnecks and adapted to raise and lower the bottles, an intermediate plateor support provided with openings adapted to receive corks, and an upperplate capable of vertical movement and provided with cork-engagingplunger-s adapted to extend through the openings of the intermediateplate, substantially as described.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a frame, avertically-movable lower plate having a series of openings adapted toreceive the necks of bottles, said plate being also provided with meansfor engaging the bottles and adapted to carry the same upward, anintermediate plate provided with openings to receive the bottles andhaving cork-compressing devices, and an upper vertically-movable plateprovided with a series of cork engaging pins or plungers adapted toextend through the intermediate plate, whereby the corks are forced intothe bottles while compressed, substantially as described.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a plateprovided with openings and capable of upward and downward movement, andclamping devices composed of bars arranged at opposite sides of theopenings, one bar being capable of movement with relation to the otherand both bars being provided with approximately semicircular recesses,whereby the said bars are adapted to grip'the necks of bottles and otherreceptacles to enable the same to be lifted bodily by the said plate,substantially as described.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a supporthaving openings, rollers or wheels arranged in pairs and located at thesaid openings and adapted to compress corks passing between them, meansfor forcing corks between the wheels or rollers and means for holdingthe corks after the same have been compressed by the said wheels orrollers, substantially as described.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a supportprovided with a series of cork-receiving notches, rollers arranged inpairs and disposed opposite the notches and adapted to compress corkspassing between them', a series of projections arranged to extendbetween the rollers, and means for reciprocating the projections toforce corks between the rollers and to hold the same in the notchesafter the said corks have been compressed, substantially as described.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a frame, anintermediate stationary support provided with a reciprocatingcork-engaging frame, the lower verticallymovable plate provided withclamping devices for engaging the necks of bottles, levers connectedwith the cork-engaging frame and with the clamping devices, and meansfor oscillating the levers, substantially as described.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a main frame,an intermediate stationary support provided with corkcom pressingdevices, the lower verticallymovable plate provided with clampingdevices for engaging the necks of bottles, an upper vertically-movableplate provided with pins or plungers arranged to extend through theintermediate support to force the corks into the bottles, oscillatinglevers connected with the cork-compressing devices and with the saidclamping devices and adapted to actuate the same, and cams for operatingthe levers, substantially as described.

9. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a main frame,a verticallymovable lower plate provided with openings and havingclamping devices for engaging the necks of bottles, cam-wheelssupporting the lower plate, a lever connected with the clamping devices,gearing for rotating the cam- Wheels and for oscillating the lever toraise and lower the lower plate and to operate the clamping devices, andmeans for forcing corks into the necks of the bottles, substantially asdescribed.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a mainframe, a lower vertically-movable plate provided with clamping devicesfor engaging the necks of bottles, cam-wheels supporting the lowerplate, a stationary plate or support located above the lower plate andprovided with cork-compressing devices, levers connected with thecorkcompressing devices and with the clamping devices, a shaft havingcams arranged to engage the levers, andv means for forcing the corksinto the bottles, substantially as described.

ll. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a mainframe, a verticallymovable lower plate having clam ping devices,

a stationary plate having cork-compressing devices, the short shafts 23located at opposite sides of the main frame and having wormwheels, theshafts 28 having worms meshing with the worm-wheels, the shaft 20extending across the frame and provided at opposite sides with cams,gearing connecting the shaft 20 with the shafts 28, cam-wheels mountedon the shafts 23 and supporting the lower vertically-movable plate,levers connected with the clamping and cork-compressing devices andarranged to be engaged by the cams of the shaft 20, and means forforcing the corks into the bottles, substantially as described.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of twowitnesses.

SVEN HYDEN. KNUT ALFRED SIMONSSON.

Witnesses:

I'IAGELIN, A. RUTBACKY.

